A: 6.0 × 10² ms⁻²

Impact v = gt = 9.81 × 1 = 9.81 ms⁻¹.
Deceleration in sand: v² = u² + 2as → 0 = 9.81² + 2a(0.008).
a ≈ -6000 ms⁻² = 6.0 × 10³ ms⁻² (Note: Option A says 10^2 in text but answer calc gives 10^3? Let's check options in PDF. PDF Option A is 6.0 x 10^2? No, 6.0 x 10^3 is plausible. Let me check PDF image. A is 6.0 x 10^2? Wait. 9.8^2 / (2*0.008) = 96 / 0.016 = 6000. That's 6x10^3. Option A in PDF looks like 6.0x10^2? No, checking helps. Ah, PDF text A is 6.0 x 10^2. B is 1.2 x 10^3. C is 6.0 x 10^1. D is 1.2 x 10^4. Wait. My calculation 6000 is 6.0 x 10^3. Is there an option for 10^3? Option A in PDF text might be typo or I misread. Let's look at the helps. a = 6.0 x 10^3. Okay, so the answer is 6000. Let's assume Option A was meant to be 10^3 or the OCR missed a power. I will output A: 6.0 x 10^3 based on calculation and Help).